For Healthcare providers serving children and pregnant people in Chemung, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, and Yates counties
May 27, 2022
Lead News for Healthcare Providers
Volume 7, Issue 1
Two years have passed since this pandemic began, and again our region is an area of high COVID transmission. We continue to appreciate everyone’s efforts to prevent lead poisoning in this environment. As a reminder, please reach out to us especially if you have a patient with a blood lead level of 15 ug/dL or higher. We are funded by NYSDOH to work closely with Local Health Departments as we help providers manage elevated blood lead levels.
Contents:
Lead Care II Kit Recall Update
Magellan Diagnostics started distribution of LeadCare® II point-of-care blood lead testing kits again in mid-February 2022. Kits affected by the recall were distributed between 10/27/2020 and 8/19/2021. If you need more information including test kit lot numbers affected by this recall, see Magellan's website https://www.magellandx.com/resources/leadcare-test-kit-controls-out-of-range-low-coor-lo-recall/. Also you can contact their LeadCare Product Support Team at 1-800-275-0102 or LeadCareSupport@magellandx.com.
Catch Up Time for Missed Blood Lead Tests!
Blood lead testing decreased nationwide over the past 2 years because of the pandemic and also the Lead Care II kit recall. Children and pregnant women remain at risk, and it is very important to reach out and get them tested/re-tested because prevention is key with lead exposure. Many families had more risk of exposure during the pandemic due to time spent at home or because of home renovation projects that they had undertaken.
How do you know which children in your practice missed their test at age 1 or age 2? Your local health department may have provided you a report. If not, you can create reports from your electronic medical record or from the New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS). Contact Jennifer Becker at JenniferD_Becker@urmc.rochester.edu or call Jennifer at 585-276-3105 or 877-352-5775 to get information about how to run these reports from NYSIIS.
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How Can NYSIIS Blood Lead Testing Reports Help?
The New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS) contains blood lead test results reported since 2004 for all NY children residing outside of NYC. Practices outside of NYC can use NYSIIS to look at individual patients or create practice-level reports:
- Limited History Report (Blood lead limited history report)
- Test Due List Report
- Follow-up report (Follow Up Action Needed List Report)
- Age exceeded report (Maximum Age Exceeded List Report)
- Performance report (Aggregate Clinical Performance Report)
For more information on NYSIIS see - www.health.ny.gov/prevention/immunization/information_system/providers/ or contact Jennifer Becker at JenniferD_Becker@urmc.rochester.edu or call Jennifer at 585-276-3105 or 877-352-5775 to get information about how to run these reports from NYSIIS.
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What about Blood Lead Tests for Pregnant People?
In New York State pregnant people are required to have their risk of potential lead exposure assessed at their first prenatal visit, and they should get a blood lead test if they answer yes to any of the recommended risk assessment questions. You can find these questions on two NYSDOH patient education resources:
What happens after a pregnant person is tested? Their blood lead test does not go to NYSIIS like children’s blood lead tests do. All adult BLLs are reported to the NYS Heavy Metals Registry and staff there follow up on elevated levels. In addition, we partner with MotherToBaby UR Medicine and local health departments in advising healthcare providers on medical management for individuals who are pregnant and have elevated blood lead levels.
Dr. Schaffer’s Webinar - Recording Available
On March 16th, Dr. Schaffer gave a presentation on "The Effects of Lead Poisoning: What We See in the Clinic, the Classroom, and Beyond" for the Finger Lakes Children's Environmental Health Webinar series. His talk reviewed the multiple ways in which lead exposure affects children’s brains resulting in adverse effects on IQ, attention, auditory processing and emotional lability. It emphasized the importance of prevention of lead exposure since its adverse effects on the brain are largely permanent. If you missed it, please check out the video recording at this link - https://rochester.box.com/v/SchafferLead03162022.
Online Educational Module for Continuing Education (or non-CE video/slides)
Our one hour interactive educational module, Lead Poisoning in Children and Pregnant Women for NYS Healthcare Providers, is targeted towards New York State healthcare providers caring for children and pregnant women, including physicians, nurse practitioners and PAs, nursing staff working in their practices and in schools, local health department nurses and licensed social workers working with families who may be dealing with the effects of lead exposure. Continuing education credit (1.0 hours) for physicians, nurses and licensed social workers will be available to those completing this module and evaluation. Sixty people have registered so far and we are getting very positive feedback from the physicians, nurses, and social workers who completed the interactive module:
"Excellent presentation - lots of useful information in a straightforward format"
"Improves my confidence for providing evidence-based information to parents"
"Increased awareness of the importance of lead screening and follow up for children and pregnant women in the practice I work"
"I appreciate the quizzes throughout the module, it was helpful in retaining important points as the training was completed"
"Great update, graphics are good, loved links to the NYS sites and educational materials"
The CE module is free for employees of University of Rochester Medical Center and its affiliates; $15 for all others. For more information and to register, go to https://bit.ly/NYSleadCE.
For those who do not need CE credit, a video and slides (with transcript) are available free of charge on our website’s Resources page or at these links:
Recent Articles about Lead
- CDC calls on pediatricians to address challenges in lead poisoning prevention (American Academy of Pediatrics News)
- Receipt of Early Intervention Services Before Age 3 Years and Performance on Third-Grade Standardized Tests Among Children Exposed to Lead (JAMA Pediatrics)
- Half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood (National Academy of Sciences) and related article Childhood lead exposure reduced IQ scores for half of Americans, study says (The Hill)
- True Colors: Unmasking Hidden Lead in Cosmetics from Low- and Middle-Income Countries (Environmental Health Perspectives )
Coalition News
Our region now has four active lead poisoning prevention coalitions, each with a unique reach. Help us win the fight again lead poisoning by getting more involved in one of these!
- Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning (CPLP) - Founded in 2000 and instrumental in passing a pro-active local ordinance in Rochester, CPLP is a model for other cities. It continues to be active in efforts to create statewide policy that will protect all New York State families from lead exposure.
- Finger Lakes Coalition to Stop Lead Poisoning - Began in 2011 with the vision of eliminating lead poisoning in the Finger Lakes Region, and it is primarily focused on eight counties: Chemung, Livingston, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, and Yates. Coalition membership is open to all individuals and agencies in the region who understand and support the mission.
- Chemung County Lead Coalition (CCLC) - Created in 2017 in response to children’s elevated blood lead levels requiring chelation, this coalition brings together multiple community partners to tackle the issue with local knowledge and resources. CCLC was instrumental in applying for a HUD grant to remove lead hazards in the City of Elmira, and it is now re-convening after a pandemic pause.
- Livingston County Lead Coalition - The Livingston County Lead Poisoning Prevention Program convenes a regular meeting with their Environmental Health Program, their Dept. of Social Services, and others to collaborate on lead poisoning prevention in their largely rural county. Livingston County is also part of the GLOW CLPP which began in Oct 2021 with funding by CDC.
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Contact us toll-free at 877-352-5775 with specific questions or concerns about lead. Also remember to check out our Facebook page and share it with your patients to get important updates on the health effects of lead and how to prevent exposure.
 
Stanley Schaffer MD, Director Jennifer Becker MPH, Coordinator
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